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Acts 24:24-27 NKJV– Paul Speaks Truth to a Husband and a Wife:

Respond immediately to the truth before you fall back into complacency.

It gives great joy to a pastor, group members, church members, and fellow believers to see a husband and wife commit to becoming closer to the Lord together. Regardless of whether they started their marriage off with Christ as the center or if they had to confess their sins and begin to focus on the Lord, it is cause for rejoicing when a couple declares they are going to live life God’s way! Equally as exhilarating is to witness a husband and a wife come to faith in Jesus Christ together. It is rare for this to occur, but when it does, it is unforgettable. It inspires a pastor to continue to labor to the point of exhaustion (I Corinthians 15:58) because the Lord has provided a powerful testimony of spiritual victory. It elevates the joy of an entire group to new heights to know that the Lord allowed them to play a part in encouraging a couple to begin to live their lives as Christ followers. It causes joy in the hearts of believers to hear of a couple who have made this crucial decision and to know their lives and their children’s lives will forever be positively affected by their decision to follow Christ.

But there is nothing so devastating as to find out that after people hear the truth about how to be forgiven for their sins, to no longer be in bondage to sinful passions, to understand how they can be washed clean, can be indwelt and empowered by the Holy Spirit, to gain spiritual victory in their lives, and to have peace with God…simply walk away. Nothing demoralizes a pastor more than seeing people walk away from the truth that can speak to all the challenges within their marriage. Many believers understand this pain. So many believers experience an aching in their spirit after they have poured their lives into discipling people, only to see them walk away. They have opened their hearts and homes to couples so they would experience the love of Christ and how their faith in Christ plays out in everyday life. They hope that after hearing the truth of the Word of God and how to have faith in Jesus Christ and witness firsthand how family relationships live out their faith, the couple will also accept Christ as their Savior. But upon hearing that the couple has given up, the believers begin feeling deeply disturbed in their spirit. They wonder what this means about the couple’s eternal future and wonder what type of guidance will now be given to the members of that family regarding Jesus Christ. It is never easy to see people – especially couples – walk away from Jesus Christ. In Acts 24:24 29, Paul is afforded the rare opportunity to engage a prominent husband and wife privately and answer their questions regarding faith in Jesus Christ. And what started off promising resulted in disappointment.

We were given a thorough introduction to Felix and Drusilla, husband and wife, in our previous Devotional on Acts 24:1-23. We learned he was a lover of money, power, fame, and pleasure. He established key relationships in the Roman government that secured him the job of Procurator (i.e., “Governor”) over the region of Judea, which contained many cities within it, including Jerusalem. He was cruel to the Jewish people and was known to break the law without concern. We learned that Drusilla was a Jewish woman who grew up exposed to the Jewish faith along with Roman leadership. Her father was the grandson of Herod the Great, who committed atrocities against the Jewish people in the region. She had a sister and brother who were living in a sinful relationship, which we will see again in Acts chapters 25 and 26. She was married when Felix worked hard to persuade her to leave her husband and marry him. They both had made many mistakes in their lives and were not even remotely honoring God with their lifestyle choices. Yet, they were intrigued with Paul’s defense to Felix and in response to the Sanhedrin’s lawyer. It made them want to sidebar with Paul to privately discuss faith in Christ. Maybe Drusilla felt that she could finally talk to someone about all the religious questions she had been exposed to but never quite understood. Perhaps when Felix learned something new about the Way (Acts 24:22), he was intrigued to learn more about something of which people probably assumed he was already knowledgeable. Whatever the reason, after a few days had passed, he sent for Paul and “heard him about faith in Christ” (Acts 24:24b; original translation).

It was here that Paul made a choice. He could think about himself, cozy up to them, and refrain from saying anything to which Felix would take offense. Paul knew that he was talking to the man who could call off this entire trial and send Paul home as a free man. He could speak 100% truth, but only the truths that did not sting or offend them, and still possibly try to get the full salvation message presented to them. Or he could remain faithful to the Gospel as he had been for over 25 years of his life as a messenger of Jesus Christ by speaking the truth in love and leave the outcome and his outcome up to God. So, Paul chose God’s will rather than his own - to present God’s unaltered truth. As a result, Paul chose to discuss three topics, “as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come” (Acts 24:25 NKJV). He discussed positional righteousness (being right with God because of His righteousness), practical righteousness (living a life that honors the Lord as evidence of a saved life), and how everyone will be judged based on their relationship to God.

Immediately, conviction set into Felix’s heart. Acts 24:25 (NKJV), “Felix was afraid” (Greek: “em-FOB-boss” meaning, “trembled caused by fear”). And immediately Felix said, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time, I will call for you” (Acts 24:25 NKJV). He wanted to escape this moment as quickly as possible and attempt to forget all that he had heard. This is evidenced by the very next verse that illustrates that he returned to his sinful mindset and did not experience the same level of conviction he felt in his initial conversation with Paul. From this point on, he still met with Paul, but it was only to tease and/or frustrate Paul to the point that maybe Paul would offer him a bribe to set him free. “Meanwhile, he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore, he sent for him more often and conversed with him” (Acts 24:26 NKJV).

Unfortunately, this scenario is an all-too-familiar one with people today when they encounter the Gospel. When people sincerely engage the truth about faith in Christ but choose not to accept and walk away, they will commonly return to their old, familiar ways that are more comfortable and nonjudgmental. And they will embrace the old ways all the more. They no longer want to even think about the incredibly uncomfortable internal conviction they began to feel when they started to come to grips with the reality that they have been making choices that dishonor the Lord. It only demonstrates that they are not in right standing with God. They begin to realize that their spiritual condition is their fault, and unless they confess and repent of their sins, they will be unable to receive eternal peace with God. And when they realize that there is a holy and righteous authority that they must reckon with, they simply want to escape the scenario. Just as Jonah wanted to mentally escape from the thought of God (“But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord…so he went down to Joppa…paid the fare and went down into [the boat]…and went down to the lowest part of the ship…and laid down and went fast asleep” (Jonah 1:3, 5b NKJV)), people want to stop the story and simply escape its reality. And that is exactly what Felix and Drusilla did.

The sad reality is how this story ends. “But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound” (Acts 24:27 NKJV).

History details that Felix’s renegade life and approach to leadership caught up with him as he was summoned to Rome by Emperor Nero. Felix attempted unsuccessfully to explain away the many charges the Jewish people brought against him for being cruel, resorting to killing Jewish people to quell any large disturbances within the city, and even sanctioning the murder of a Jewish priest. He was convicted of these crimes and removed from his post, but he escaped capital punishment because of the intercession of some key friends who knew Nero well. Unfortunately, there is no record of him or Drusilla ever repenting and coming to faith in Christ. He remained guilty of his sin before the judge of the universe, and he had no one to intercede on his behalf to the Father. He became the recipient of the eternal judgment of God. It was everything he was warned about by Paul just a couple of short years before his death.

Ponder & Pray Today…

Reflect on this situation and place yourself in Felix’s position. Felix heard the truth, literally trembled, then left and chose never to engage Paul again. Paul’s words pierced Felix’s heart as the truth spoke against his sin, but he was not receptive to it because he did not want to change. Now ask yourself how receptive you are to hearing the truth and correction that goes against the choices you make. Do you see correction as something that will benefit you, or do you fight correction, even if you know it is what you need?

Pray to God and acknowledge that you understand correction is hard, but you know it will help you grow stronger spiritually. And tell Him you also recognize that to take correction immediately will help protect you from making future mistakes. And then invite the Lord to speak the truth to your heart every day, and that you will accept it. Pray Psalm 139:23-24 to God, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”